Covering Indian Country – April 2024

April 2024

Spotlight: Enroll AI/ANs in CMS programs today

Enrollment in CMS programs benefits American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals, their families, and their communities.

Programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide AI/ANs with greater access to preventive and specialty care, thereby reducing disparities and improving health status.

Additionally, when AI/ANs are enrolled in such programs, Indian health care providers can bill for services provided, and the reimbursements help supplement services for uninsured patients.

Working with the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) and other tribal partners, we continue prioritizing outreach and education to increase AI/AN enrollment in health insurance.

Enrollment in CMS programs benefits AI/AN individuals, families, and communities.

Throughout Indian Country, stories are often used to communicate important messages. In keeping with that tradition, NIHB has worked with tribal enrollment assisters to collect stories depicting how third-party coverage positively impacts individuals, families, and communities (PDF, 17.3 MB, 7 pp).

Known collectively as “the CMS storyboard project,” the stories describe real-life scenarios where Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, and the Marketplace enabled tribal members to get the care they needed.

The stories also highlight the role of enrollment assisters and patient benefits coordinators in helping AI/ANs figure out what coverage options are available and most affordable.

Need more information specific to outreach and education in tribal communities? Download a CMCS Informational Bulletin (PDF, 133 KB, 9 pp) that reviews strategies to enroll AI/AN families and children in Medicaid and CHIP.

April: National Alcohol Awareness Month

Share this ad in your newsletter or on your website. For more information, please visit CMS’s Outreach and Education Resources page.

Health observances

National Minority Health Month

April is National Minority Health Month, an annual observance highlighting the need to address health disparities.

Awareness of disparities tends to be higher when people from historically underrepresented communities are included in discussions of disparities at the federal level.

Recently, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities announced the appointment of six new members to its national advisory council. One of those new members is Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, DrPH, MPH, an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Dr. Jernigan directs the Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity, which partners with Native communities to restore traditional foods and food practices. She is also a professor at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.

Additionally, Dr. Jernigan served as guest editor of Indigenous Food Sovereignty as a Path to Health Equity, a special issue of Health Promotion Practice that was published last fall.

National Infant Immunization Week: April 22–29

Vaccinating children on time helps protect all of us from diseases such as polio and whooping cough.

In observance of National Infant Immunization Week, please encourage families in your community to make sure their babies are up to date on the vaccinations recommended for birth onward.

Also, remind caregivers that immunizations may be covered as a preventive care benefit.

Additional resources

Dual eligibility for people with HIV

A guide to help people with HIV understand Medicare and Medicaid coverage (PDF, 1.9 MB, 7 pp) is available online.

Intended for clients of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the guide discusses:

• Common pathways to dual eligibility
• Services covered by Medicare and or Medicaid
• Order of payors for services

The guide also offers tips to make it easier for people to use their coverage and get the care they need.

Funding opportunities

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part C

Deadline: April 16
View the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part C funding opportunity

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part C Capacity Development Program funds are available to help increase access to high-quality primary health care services for low-income, underserved people with HIV. Applicants may submit proposals for one of the following two categories:

• HIV care innovation
• Infrastructure development

As many as 60 grants of up to $150,000 each will be awarded for a one-year performance period. Tribes and tribal organizations are encouraged to apply.

Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program

Deadline: April 24
View the Violence Against Women Tribal Governments Program funding opportunity

The Office on Violence Against Women is offering funds to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and stalking. Approximately 60 grants will be awarded. Tribes are encouraged to apply.

Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program

Deadline: April 26
View the Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention funding opportunity

The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering funds to support community-based suicide prevention services for veterans and their families. Those services include:

• Outreach and baseline mental health screenings to identify people at risk for suicide
• Education on suicide risk and prevention
• Case management and peer support
• Assistance with obtaining and coordinating government benefits

As many as 80 grants of up to $750,000 each will be awarded. Tribes are encouraged to apply.

JHCIH summer institute scholarships

Priority Deadline: May 1 at 5 p.m. Eastern
General Deadline: May 17 at 5 p.m. Eastern
View the JHCIH summer institute funding opportunity

The Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health (JHCIH) is offering scholarships for its 2024 summer institute, which will offer the following courses online:

• Introduction to Data Management Using American Indian Health Data
• Introduction to Quantitative and Qualitative Research for American Indian Health
• Indigenous Perspectives on Environmental Health
• Indigenous Harm Reduction

Indigenous health leaders and health professionals who serve tribal communities are encouraged to apply.

RCORP–Impact grants

Deadline: May 6
View the RCORP–Impact funding opportunity

Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP)–Impact grants are available to improve access to integrated, coordinated substance use disorder treatment and recovery services in rural areas.

As many as 16 grants will be awarded for a four-year performance period. Tribes and tribal organizations are encouraged to apply.

Calendar of events